China imprisons 10 young Hongkongers for attempted escape to Taiwan

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — At the end of a trial that has drawn criticism for being held in “secret,” 10 Hong Kong activists were sentenced to between seven months and three years in prison on Wednesday (Dec. 30) for illegally crossing the border during an attempted escape to Taiwan this summer.

The verdict arrived Wednesday morning, two days after the trial began in Shenzhen, China, where 12 Hongkongers aged 16 to 33 have been held incommunicado since they were overtaken by the Chinese authorities in waters off Guangdong Province en route to Taiwan in August. They have been denied access to their families as well as the lawyers their families hired, but instead were appointed state-selected attorneys, as is common in China.

The two minors among the group were spared trials and are being returned to Hong Kong, where they will be subject to closed-door hearings, reports said.

All 10 of those on trial plead guilty, according to the Yantian District People’s Court. Eight were sentenced to seven month’s imprisonment and fined RMB10,000 (US$1,531) for illegally crossing the border.

As for the two presumed to be the ringleaders of the operation —Tang Kai-yin (鄧棨然) and Quinn Moon (喬映瑜) — the court handed Tang a three-year sentence and RMB20,000 fine, while Quinn, the only woman of the dozen, received a two-year term and RMB15,000 fine for organizing the crossing, an offense punishable by up to seven years.

The trial of 10 of the “12 Hong Kong youths” has been panned for its secretive nature. The families of the accused were not informed of the trial date until three days prior, leaving them inadequate time to make arrangements to attend.

Hong Kong media and diplomats from Western countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia, and France, attempted to attend Monday’s hearing in Shenzhen but were denied entry.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Twitter criticized the proceedings over the three days’ notice and state-appointed lawyers, saying China should “uphold the rule of law and respect the basic principles of international human rights law.”

Meanwhile, the American embassy in Beijing called for all 12 Hongkongers to be released. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement blasting the Chinese Communist Party’s prosecution of “Hong Kong’s courageous pro-democracy advocates.” He said that “free speech” and “free thinking of its own people” are what the regime most fears.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) on Monday responded to the U.S. criticisms by saying that as a country “where laws must be followed and lawbreakers must be brought to justice,” China rejects interference in its internal affairs.

The Asia-Pacific Regional Director of Amnesty International on Wednesday stated that the sentencing shows the “dangers faced by anybody who finds themselves tried under the Chinese criminal system.” The young Hongkongers are in danger of mistreatment, she added, including torture, while they serve their terms.